This invention relates to arthroscopic and/or endoscopic surgery and more particularly, to a method of performing a surgical procedure and a surgical appliance useful in performing the method.
In performing surgical procedures, one problem commonly encountered is tying off stitches closing an incision in such a way as to prevent the knot from loosening or coming undone. If the surgery is performed in a locale where the patient's skin is, or can be drawn back, exposing the surgical site, tying off stitches so they do not come undone should not be a problem. In arthroscopic and/or endoscopic surgeries where the surgical site is deep inside the body so the site is not readily accessible, this is not easily done. Because the surgical site is usually also very small, the surgeon is typically working in a very confined area and is probably using an endoscope in order to view the work he is performing. As a consequence, he does not have the space to make the type of surgical knot he would like to make, or to make it sufficiently tight it will not later loosen. The knot he uses in this situation is usually a slip knot, or some variation thereof, rather than a double knot which is preferred for closing incisions. If a knot becomes undone in this latter instance, the surgical site must be reopened so the stitches can be tied off again. This is not acceptable. It would be preferable if the surgeon could prepare the knot ex situ where there is adequate room for him to work, but current surgical procedures and instruments do not allow him to do so.